


Escape

by Burgie



Series: The High School AU of Fluff and Good Things [8]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 20:36:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17649464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: At the end of the day, Daine just wants to go home. Daine belongs to HellishSam.





	Escape

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HellishSam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellishSam/gifts).



> Some mild references to Daine's shitty family in here (nothing too bad here but he did get kicked out, this is mostly the aftermath).

There was a water stain on the ceiling of Willow's bedroom that looked like a rubber duck. Daine had noticed this on his first night here, and now, he couldn't not notice it. Especially not when he was lying in bed, too mired in misery to get up and properly start the day. He'd told Oskar that he didn't feel well enough to go to school, that he was coming down with something, but that wasn't really the whole truth. Really, Daine was just too miserable to go to school. He was sick of pretending that everything was fine, that everything was okay. But he also didn't want to deal with the pitying looks when he told his friends about the truth behind his strange new habit of arriving to school with Willow. Because nobody knew, yet, that he was no longer living at home. That he'd been kicked out.

Then again, nobody knew either about the secret that he kept hidden beneath his turquoise, leaf-patterned sweatshirt. As he lay there, Daine fished the key on its rope from beneath his sweatshirt and looked at it, the metal glinting in the light that came in through Willow's bedroom window. He'd secretly hammered a 'Y' into the thick end of the key when he'd been in shop class, and borrowed some of Willow's nail polish to paint the letter purple. As he looked at it, though, the question rose to Daine's mind again. And he heard, again, Ydris' kind voice on that cold winter morning when he'd dropped Daine back home just before dawn.

"Wait," Ydris had said as Daine had been about to leave. Daine had looked back at him, already feeling anxiety urging him to run and hide in his room before anyone woke up and noticed that he'd been missing.

"What?" Daine had asked, his heart seizing up again when Ydris had reached into the pocket of his jacket.

"I know I've already given you your Christmas present, but I want you to have this too," Ydris had said, his white-gloved hand trembling as he'd held out the key, the metal no doubt already reaching freezing temperatures in this weather. Daine had only stared at it, unwilling to believe that Ydris would really offer him this.

"Are you sure?" Daine had asked, shaking as his fingers had hovered over the key. In answer, Ydris had placed his free hand over the back of Daine's outstretched hand and brought it down over the hand that held the key. He'd turned their hands so that the key had fallen into Daine's where it sat, feeling right and yet at the same time all too heavy in his palm.

"Yes," Ydris had said, his gaze burning with passion. "Should you ever need somewhere to go, should you ever need an escape, my door will now always open to you. And don't worry, I've talked this over with my mother, and she's agreed to let you stay if you need to." And Daine had looked at him, tears spilling over his eyelashes, and thrown his arms around his boyfriend in a tight hug, gripping the key so tightly that the metal bit into his palm even through the gloves that he wore.

"Thank you," Daine had whispered, his emotions overflowing. Love for this man, the sense of freedom, the sudden, strong urge to go and not come back ever, the desire to run away and live with his boyfriend forever. Because Ydris was his home, more than this house around the corner had ever been, no matter how nice it looked. The nicest facade could always hide the nastiest secrets.

"My Daniel," Ydris had whispered into his ear. "I love you. I hope that you never need to take me up on this offer, but the offer is there, regardless."

Now, as he weighed the key in the palm of his hand, Daine's heart twisted with guilt. He wanted, so badly, to take Ydris up on his offer. Had wanted to the night that he'd left, too, but he hadn't. He'd been too emotional, hadn't wanted to weigh his boyfriend down with that burden, didn't want Ydris to think that he was the reason that Daine had been kicked out of his home. Because Ydris both had and hadn't been the reason. He had been texting Ydris, after all, when his mother had snatched his phone away from him and everything had gone to shit.

Daine sat up and closed his eyes, trying to ignore that memory. The shouting. The words they'd called him. How cold it had been that night. How much his hands had shaken, the letters of his phone keyboard swimming more than usual, the relief he'd felt when his 'sister' had answered the phone and he'd known that he hadn't accidentally hit 'Ydris' instead of 'Willow'. The way his voice had broken when he'd asked if he could stay the night. The sad, knowing look that Oskar had given him, how tightly Oskar had hugged him, how much Daine had cried that night.

And now here he was, about to walk out on them. Not that he didn't love staying here, but... he'd noticed how Willow and Oskar went out of their way to take care of him. How they often seemed different when he wasn't around. And it wasn't their fault, it was just what happened when someone new moved in.

Daine breathed out shakily, still holding the key tightly in his fist. And, with a silent apology, he got out of bed.

Ydris was concerned when his boyfriend didn't show up at school. Daine was always here, usually with Willow now, but this morning, Willow had turned up alone. When he'd asked, Ydris had only been told that Daine wasn't feeling too well today, and had decided to stay home. Ydris' text to Daine had received a similar response, though it had been a little delayed. Maybe he just had a summer cold, that was a possibility.

But Ydris still worried.

Not for the first time, Daine was glad that Oskar left work early to work in a nearby seaside town. He and his friends had visited the beach of Fort Pinta a few times, and had gone on many field trips to the historic fort. Daine checked the fridge, but only managed to eat a few cookies before anxiety cramped his stomach. But oh well. He wouldn't need food where he was going. He was really only in the kitchen for a glass of water to rehydrate from crying. The next step would be the linen closet, where his bag that he'd carried his meager belongings in was stashed at the bottom of the wardrobe.

At the bottom of the duffel bag was Cloud's leash, a sad-looking thing. Tears stung Daine's eyes again as he looked at it, and he picked it up and wrapped it loosely around his wrist. Cloud's white fur was still stuck to the rope, and it still smelled like him. Really, that had been the deciding factor to leave here- Cloud wasn't allowed to stay in the apartment, only Willow's kestrel, Hawkeye, and blue tit, Rebel, were allowed. But where he was going, dogs were allowed. He'd just have to make one painful visit back 'home' first.

Walking through the city, Daine felt very small and alone. He'd left a note on the coffee table in front of the TV, apologising for leaving. His guitar, gotten from Willow for a birthday present some years ago, was in its case across his back, and the hood of his turquoise hoodie was pulled up around his face. Anxiety made Daine want to run, but he only kept his eyes ahead as he made his way across the city. He'd never noticed before how long it took to get to the trailer park. But first, he had to pay a visit to his childhood home.

Cloud, mercifully, ran over to Daine easily and eagerly, and more tears fell as Daine knelt down and greeted his best friend. Cloud gave a happy 'boof', his entire body wagging with his tail, and reared up to rest his front paws over Daine's shoulders and lick his owner's face. Daine laughed, grinning at his dog and ruffling his fur. God, he'd missed this boy.

"Cloud?" Shit. Immediately, the happiness that had been rising in Daine turned to snow, and he cursed as he clipped the lead onto Cloud and jogged out of the yard. Thankfully, if his mother saw him, saw the tip of Cloud's white tail disappear around the corner, she said nothing. That bitch hadn't helped Daine's case, anyway.

For once, Ydris couldn't wait for the school day to end. As soon as the final bell rang, he dashed out of the classroom, hurrying to the student carpark and tossing his backpack (purple, of course) onto the backseat. He was pretty sure that he broke some speed limits driving home, but he wasn't pulled over. In his final class, he'd received a text message from Daine, one that had almost convinced him to run out then and there and to hell with the test.

'I'm home'

Ydris fumbled the key to the trailer, his heart in his mouth. He cursed as the key scraped the metal around the keyhole, but at last, he slid the key in and turned it.

The trailer looked and the same as ever. Zee, his black tuxedo cat, rose her head from where it had been on her paws as she curled up on the table, and yawned at him, showing off her fangs. But, once the smell of cat breath had faded, Ydris noticed that there was a new smell in his trailer, one unfamiliar with the ever-present smells of cat and incense and old, cold coffee and the scents from last night's dinner.

Ydris knew exactly what he'd find as he headed towards his bedroom, though his heart still pounded. He opened the curtain that served as a doorway, saw the bag, the dog, the guitar case, the boy in his bed. And he knew.

Ydris had expected to feel anger the second that he found out about his boyfriend being kicked out. Rage, even, at the sheer injustice of it. But instead, he found his heart breaking. Found his throat constricting, his eyes burning, as he walked over to the bed and stood at the side, reaching his hand out to gently caress Daine's tangled mess of hair. Though Daine was under the covers, Ydris could see that he wore the purple jacket that was usually kept in Ydris' wardrobe.

"Oh, Daniel," Ydris whispered, his heart constricting at the sight of his boyfriend asleep in his bed. Even from here, where Daine's curly hair fell over his pale brown cheek like waves and his eyelashes rested gently against his cheek, Ydris could plainly see that Daine had been crying. Could see it in the way that his eyelashes were clumped together, in the mess of dried tears and snot that his face had become.

Daine's eyes opened suddenly, bloodshot gold that hurt Ydris to see.

"I'm home," said Daine, his voice cracking on the last word. He sat up, the water bed sloshing under him, and Ydris wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and held him tightly.

"Please tell me you ran away," said Ydris. Daine sobbed, and Ydris bit his lip in anger. How dare they. How dare they throw their son out, for what, being gay?

"I'm so sorry I didn't come here first," said Daine, tears streaming down his cheeks as he pulled away to look at Ydris. "I-I wanted to, and I should've, but I-I stayed with Willow and her dad instead."

"Why didn't you?" Ydris asked, not upset, merely curious. Daine sniffled, and Ydris reached for the tissues on his nightstand.

"I didn't wanna burden you," said Daine after wiping his face. "But then I was burdening Oskar and Willow, and I couldn't take Cloud with me, and I just- I hate myself for abandoning them but I missed you and I missed my boy."

"Daniel, you are not a burden," said Ydris, still holding Daine. "Your wretched parents may have made you feel that way, but I can promise you, you are nothing like a burden. Truthfully, I was beginning to hatch a plan to spirit you away from there."

"I should've just moved in with you on Christmas night," said Daine. "Or after we- you know." He looked down at the mention of that night at the drive-in. "But hey, we can do that all the time now."

"Of course," said Ydris. "Just as long as you do not mind living in a trailer."

"I don't give a shit if we live in a trailer," said Daine. "I don't care where I live, as long as I can be myself."

"Are you certain?" Ydris asked. Daine had come from a very wealthy household, after all.

"My home is wherever you are," said Daine, winding his arms back around his boyfriend and resting his head on Ydris' chest. "I love you, and I'm happy if I'm with you."

"You're safe now," said Ydris, his hand running down over Daine's hair. "Nothing is going to hurt you anymore. Not your awful family. Nothing. I swear it."

"Can we keep it a secret from the others for a while, though?" Daine asked. "I'm already a wreck, I don't want them making a fuss."

"Whatever you desire," said Ydris, nodding. He kissed the top of Daine's head. "Your happiness is what's most important."

"Thank you," said Daine, pressing his face into Ydris' chest as more tears spilled over. He was home. His heart was home. He was going to be okay.


End file.
